Japan gaming industry reports and market data
Documents
New Generation Game Creator Contest: Kami‑Game Creator Evolution Broadcast Notice (Japan)
The announcement serves to inform viewers of the upcoming televised presentation of the inaugural “Kami-Game Creator Evolution” contest, a competition designed to discover and nurture emerging game developers across Japan.
- NHK Enterprise is launching the inaugural 'Kami-Game Creator Evolution' contest to identify and nurture emerging game development talent across Japan.
- The contest's televised finale will broadcast on NHK General on February 23, 2023, at 23:45, with simultaneous streaming on NHK Plus, NHK On-Demand, YouTube, and Niconico.
- The project, endorsed by the Computer Entertainment Association, ran its nationwide entry phase between December 2022 and January 2023.
Mobile Games: State of the Market & Playtime Q3 2023
The global mobile gaming market faced a contraction in total installs during the third quarter of 2023, reflecting a broader cooling trend in user acquisition.
- iOS remains the dominant platform for mobile gaming revenue, accounting for 56.01% of the total global share compared to 43.99% for Android.
- The United States and Japan are the leading revenue generators among major markets, contributing $2.92 billion and $2.03 billion respectively, with the six analyzed countries accounting for 59% of global gaming revenue.
- South Korea experienced the highest growth in game installs at 32% compared to Q3 2022, while the United States and France saw declines of 5% and 0.7%, respectively.
Mobile App Trends 2023: Japan Edition
Japan’s mobile app market is undergoing a significant recovery following a downturn in 2022, characterized by a 12% surge in consumer spending to $4.65 billion in the first quarter of 2023.
- Japan's mobile market recovered in Q1 2023 with a 12% surge in consumer spending to $4.65 billion, driven largely by the gaming sector's $3.14 billion contribution.
- The Japanese advertising landscape is shifting toward Connected TV (CTV), with the market projected to reach 169.5 billion yen by 2025 as household ownership hits 30 million.
- Fintech adoption is accelerating rapidly in Japan, highlighted by a 134% quarterly increase in installations for crypto-related applications.
Survey on Student Game Creators and Career Formation 2022: Japan
The game industry in Japan faces a complex landscape regarding future talent pipelines, as career aspirations for game creators fluctuate significantly based on age, gender, and educational background.
- Interest in game development careers drops significantly as students transition from middle school to university, where career goals shift toward broader IT engineering or other sectors.
- A persistent gender gap exists in the industry pipeline, with female students showing lower interest in technical programming roles and a preference for creative fields like music and character design.
- Awareness of game development as a profession is high, exceeding 90 percent among older students, yet this does not translate into high career conversion rates.
MIXI Group Integrated Report 2022
MIXI Group’s 2022 corporate strategy centers on a fundamental rebranding effort to prioritize the facilitation of meaningful human connections across its Digital Entertainment, Sports, and Lifestyle segments.
- MIXI Group is executing a three-year strategic pivot to reduce reliance on its flagship Monster Strike franchise by diversifying into sports betting, digital transformation, and lifestyle applications like FamilyAlbum.
- Financial performance in fiscal year 2022 saw net sales of ¥118,099 million and a 29.9% decline in operating income to ¥16,069 million, driven by core segment volatility and increased marketing spend in the Sports division.
- The company has committed to a ¥30 billion to ¥50 billion investment cycle through 2025, focused on intellectual property expansion, strategic M&A, and revenue stream diversification.
DeNA Integrated Report 2022
DeNA is undergoing a strategic evolution to diversify its portfolio into two primary pillars: "Entertain," comprising Games and Live Streaming, and "Serve," focusing on Healthcare and Sports.
- DeNA is pivoting toward a dual-pillar strategy of 'Entertain' (Games and Live Streaming) and 'Serve' (Healthcare and Sports) to balance stable cash flow with high-growth sectors.
- Fiscal year 2021 financial results included 30.5 billion yen in profit attributable to owners and a 13.2% return on equity.
- The Game Business revenue declined to 74.7 billion yen due to a lack of new hits, while the Live Streaming segment grew 1.4x and the Healthcare segment achieved its first quarterly profit.
Management Strategy Briefing: August 2022
Akatsuki is undergoing a strategic transformation to establish itself as a premier global digital content provider, shifting its focus exclusively toward high-scale games, comics, and anime.
- Akatsuki is pivoting to a global-first strategy by exiting domestic-only projects and real-life entertainment to focus exclusively on high-scale, multi-device games, comics, and anime.
- The company has committed 20 billion yen over four years to develop next-generation 3D gaming titles, prioritizing long-term IP value over immediate profitability.
- An investment portfolio of 13.9 billion yen across 144 entities grew 60% in market value to 21.6 billion yen as of June 2022.
Japan Mobile App Trends 2022: Essential App Performance Benchmarks and Insights
The Japanese mobile app market underwent a period of significant expansion between 2020 and mid-2022, characterized by a 19% increase in total installs and a 12% rise in user sessions.
- The Japanese mobile market saw a 19% increase in total installs and a 12% rise in user sessions between 2020 and mid-2022, driven primarily by a 52% year-over-year surge in gaming installs.
- Hyper Casual and RPG titles dominate the gaming sector, accounting for 15% and 13% of total installs respectively.
- E-commerce and Fintech are experiencing significant engagement growth, with sessions rising 29% and 13% respectively compared to 2020 benchmarks.
1Q FY2022 Presentation Material: October to December 2021
CyberAgent demonstrated significant financial growth during the first quarter of fiscal year 2022, with consolidated sales reaching 171 billion yen and operating profit increasing nearly threefold to 19.8 billion yen.
- CyberAgent’s consolidated sales reached 171 billion yen in 1Q FY2022, with operating profit nearly tripling to 19.8 billion yen.
- The Game business segment saw sales nearly double to 58.3 billion yen, driven by the success of 'Uma Musume Pretty Derby' which exceeded 12 million downloads.
- Operating profit for the Game segment grew 15.1-fold year-over-year, though management remains cautious about full-year forecasts due to gaming market volatility.
Creating Feudal Japan from Across the Pacific
The development of Ghost of Tsushima serves as a case study in navigating the complexities of representing a foreign culture within the interactive medium.
- To ensure cultural authenticity in 'Ghost of Tsushima,' Sucker Punch Productions prioritized hiring and collaborating with cultural consultants throughout the development process, viewing this investment as a necessary cost of entry rather than a production burden.
- The development team adopted a 'student' mindset, which included conducting field research in Tsushima and Japan to move beyond superficial internet-based assumptions and gain a deeper understanding of historical details like sword artistry.
- When game design requirements conflicted with cultural accuracy, the team prioritized authenticity by making significant changes, such as renaming characters to better fit historical naming conventions and removing mindless hunting mechanics that clashed with Japanese cultural values.
FY2021 Presentation Material
CyberAgent achieved record-breaking financial performance in fiscal year 2021, characterized by consolidated sales of 666.4 billion yen and a more than threefold increase in operating profit to 104.3 billion yen.
- CyberAgent achieved record-breaking FY2021 performance with 666.4 billion yen in consolidated sales and a 104.3 billion yen operating profit, representing a more than threefold increase.
- The Game business was the primary profit driver, recording 68.6% year-over-year growth fueled by the commercial success of Uma Musume Pretty Derby.
- WINTICKET captured 25% of the Keirin online betting market and tripled its transaction volume, significantly contributing to reduced operating losses in the Media segment.
3Q FY2021 Presentation Material: April to June 2021
CyberAgent experienced exceptional financial growth during the third quarter of fiscal year 2021, covering the period from April to June.
- CyberAgent’s consolidated sales grew 70.3% year-over-year to 192.2 billion yen in 3Q FY2021, with operating profit increasing more than fivefold to 44.5 billion yen.
- The 'Uma Musume Pretty Derby' game drove a 151.7% increase in gaming segment sales and a 480% surge in operating profit, reaching nine million downloads within five months of launch.
- Driven by the success of 'Uma Musume', CyberAgent revised its full-year forecasts upward to 650 billion yen in sales and 100 billion yen in operating profit.